East Greenville has decided to go it alone on trash collection. On Monday, borough council voted to leave the regional Solid Waste/Recycling Committee.

The elected officials moved to withdraw from the joint committee with Pennsburg and conduct their own bidding process, according to an Aug. 2 letter from East Greenville Manager Jim Fry to Diane Stevens, a member of Pennsburg Borough Council and the chair of the committee.

"We believe that bidding on our own contract will enable the borough to save money and allow us to provide our residents with service options that best fit their needs," the letter states.

Council approved the measure unanimously, according to East Greenville Mayor Ryan Sloyer. He said council members cast the vote during a meeting between 10:30 p.m. and 10:45 p.m. on Monday following a two-hour executive session.

Sloyer declined to comment further on the situation.

"Outside the letter, there will be no further comment on this from borough officials," he said Tuesday afternoon.

During the initial public portion of the meeting, Fry and Council member Marita Thomson expressed concern over language in the proposed bid documents.

"The language is very confusing," Thomson said. "I am very concerned. I feel like we are running out of time. Maybe we should talk about doing our own contract."

According to Thomson, Pennsburg favored a proposal to add totes – cans with wheels – and East Greenville wanted to stick with trash bags.

After Red Hill exited the tri-borough trash collection cooperative in late June, officials in East Greenville vowed to make sure their residents' needs would be met.

At a July 5 meeting, borough council voted unanimously to pass a resolution making sure the municipality's bidding process would operate as it has in recent years within the cooperative, despite Red Hill leaving the committee.

East Greenville officials said they wanted to consider options that would use trash bags or cans with wheels, also called totes. Officials said they also would consider bids that do and do not include the cost of having a single trash hauler pick up recyclables.

"It's want we want to see on the final joint bid document," Sloyer said after the July 5 meeting.

Sloyer also said that the borough would remain as a member of the committee with Pennsburg.

Thomson said at the July 5 meeting that the recycling component could significantly impact the contract. She said East Greenville might have to return several thousand dollars in grant money if the municipality stopped using a joint recycling center, located in 600 block of West Side Alley in Pennsburg.

However, on Monday, council members changed their minds, voting to leave the joint committee following the executive session.

On Tuesday, Fry stated in an email that East Greenville officials have made no plans regarding the recycling center.

"This will most likely be determined after the bids are received," he wrote. "Both boroughs will need to determine the extent of their recycling efforts."

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